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Weapon-Specific Strategies
The most important component of any warship is the weapons. While armor, speed and maneuverability all play significant parts in battles, these factors simply assisst the weaponry in being maximally effective. Many weapons are very similar to each other and are grouped according to their characteristics. 47/76mm Rapid Fire Gun 'RFG' for short, these are the weakest guns in the game. They are decent beginner weapons, due to their low cost. However, with low cost comes low firepower and range. Though the 47mm RFG has the fastest rate of fire per any non-rare metal weapon, it still has extremely weak projectiles and is only suitable against unarmored vessels. Even 200mm Armor will provide ample protection against these guns. Despite that, they will shred any ships costructed without armor blocks. Additionally, they are extremely accurate, so their optimal use would be aiming at a single side of an enemy vessel with the intention of capsizing it. 12 cm Gun The only gun that fires from a casemate, it is an improvement over the 47/76mm RFGs. They are unique among guns in that they can only fire in a narrow arc, as opposed to an almost 200 degree firing angle. Small vessels are best using these if deck space is limited. Even though heavier damage and longer range gives it an edge over the 47/76mm RFGs, these are best used as broadside guns (as opposed to forward guns), to be used when you are passing or circling an enemy vessel. 12.7/15cm Gun These guns are the heaviest 1x1x1 weapons. Because of their small deck footprint along with with fair firepower, these guns are best employed on smaller ships as complementary weapons to larger armaments. Because of their range and firepower, they can serve as inexpensive tertiary batteries on larger vessels. These are good forward guns as they are short and small, so they can fit in easily forward and abreast of larger cannons. If you happen to be using a majority of these of your vessel, avoid moving in closer than your effective range. 20cm Gun They will be the heaviest weapons the player initially receives. Low-cost and decent in firepower, they usually make up primary batteries on the player's early Level 1 ships.Heavier ships, even up to the Yamato-class, will employ these guns as supplementary artillery This gun is extremely effective at medium range, even as the player's accuracy improves with awarding of Drill medals. This is the first cannon that fires with a sizable arc, so beware at longer ranges. 30.5cm Gun Family These guns are very common weapons. Possessing an excellent balance of firepower and compactness, they will serve well as primary, secondary and tertiary batteries. These guns serve as the best gun armament for carriers because of this. The heaviest of the class, the 30.5cm+ Gun, can provide heavy firepower in a nicely-sized package. Two of them are the pinnacle of the first multiplayer level. These are excellent main cannons on smaller ships, and give a good boost alongside 40cm guns. The smaller 30.5cm Gun (old) and the slightly bigger 30.5cm Gun (new) will serve best as secondaries on medium and large ships, given their small deck footrpint and lower firepower. The 30.5cm Gun (old) serves better than the newer one because it occupies less deck space. However, 30.5cm Gun (new) positions are easier to upgrade to 30.5cm+ Gun emplacements. This caliber is the most common caliber in the singleplayer campaign, arming every vessel since the Duel Lv4 battle. The only serious limitation to the weapon is its damage- the firepower of the standard 30.5cm Gun (old/new/+) is incapable of seriously harming heavily armored vessels. Note: In the game's files, the new 30.5cm gun (middle one on the photo) is labeled as incendiary, which accounts for the higher damage than the old 30.5cm gun. The lesser size means it packs a lower firepower, so the 30.5cm+ gun (aka Mikasa gun) still looms over it. 4x5/6x2 Guns This family contains the 36/35.6cm Gun Family (36cm Gun, 35.6cm Gun and the 36cm Quadruple Gun), the 38cm Gun and the 40cm Gun Family (40cm Gun and the 40cm Triple Gun). Most of these only have two shots and all have a range of at least 13.2 km. Unable to rely on masses of guns or a high fire rate, these guns require extreme skill to use effectively at their said ranges. Due to their size, they are best employed as either primary weapons on medium-sized ships or secondaries on large ships. Multishot weapons add to the density of fire, though they are much more expensive than the equivalent double-shot counterparts and suffer from the slow reload time. Mount along the center for maximum effect. 46cm Triple Gun These weapons are the most powerful guns in existence. They are also the largest, occupying an 8x8x3 area. With a reload time of 20 seconds, three shots and firepower that exceeds lighter warships, this weapon will certainly do severe damage even to heavily-armored ships. Their size will dictate their use only as primary guns for the largest of the ships. Mount these on the centerline to provide the most amount of firepower on each side. These guns also boast the largest shells. Mk 45 5 inch Gun This weapon has the highest firepower per deck area in the game. Sporting the firepower of a 36cm Gun and the fire rate of a 76mm RFG, these guns are one of the most effective anti-fast boat guns. However, their low blast radius dictates precision placement, something it is adept to. It is a powerful low-level antiaircraft gun, and can engage both reliably. Emplace in areas where they could maximize their wide field of arc and high fire rate- their small size makes it hard to hit. They take hardly any time to reload, about a single second! It is also a great conducted weapon because it flys so close to the water. Torpedoes These weapons have the highest firepower-size ratio, as the Torpedo Tube A has the hitting power of the much larger and infinitely more expensive 46cm Gun. However, what torpedoes lack is actual battle value. Torpedo Tube A and Torpedo Tube B torpedoes are best used in swarms or positioned on the front of a ram to turn the ship into a bomb lance, only effective in very specific circumstances on very few vessels. The Triple Torpedo Tube and the Oxygen Torpedo Tube, due to the fact it launches swarms of torpedoes already, can be easily used as tactical area denial weapons. While less effective than mines in this respect, there is an infinite supply of them. Range is another factor. The rare-metal cost Oxygen Torpedo Tube has the longest range, that being of 10km. The rest, save for the Torpedo Tube A, has a range of 4.5km (excluding Oxygen Torpedo Tubes). The Torpedo Tube A has a range of 3km. Coupled with the fact that a 30.5cm Gun mount has a range of 13.2km and the fact torpedoes are slow and inaccurate, they are usually not worth the money spent. If any vessel is to benefit the most from torpedoes, then it is the submarine. As its longest-ranged weapon when sailing underwater, they are a necessity to have on any submarine. Another deadly weapon for the sub are the mines. Rocket Launcher This weapon is the ultimate close-mid range devastator. Functioning like a giant shotgun, it can devastate boats effectively at ranges of about 4-7km. However, its slow reload speed makes it less effective at ranges below 4km, while its shot spread makes it less effective at ranges above 7km. Use in moderation. Anti-Submarine Weapons Statistically, these weapons should never be considered. Their short range makes them unsuited to use. However, the omnipresent threat of a submarine gives them all the reason to invest in them. The depth charge, while requiring excellent skill to use, is nonetheless a powerful counter to any submarine that ends up to be below you. They can also damage surface vessels- if they are literally next to you. Hedgehogs are far more powerful and useful against them. With a standoff range, they are a direct upgrade to a depth charge. Occupying the same space, both could be used interchangably. Depth charges possess more damage but requires more skill and a lesser range to use, but Hedgehog Mortar ASW weapons have a range and is literally safer but it lacks the damage and explosion radius of a Depth Charge. Mines These weapons are potent weapons in the right hands. They are best employed on fast boats and submarines, since these vessels are most effective with area denial and is certainly capable of enacting them. Their power cannot be ignored- one hit usually will kill a ship, while if it survives, then the vessel will be severely disabled. However, they rely on having the opponent run into it. This works best when the vessel is disabled and unable to change course, or is more distracted by your gunfire or torpedoes than a minefield. Their effectiveness is highly situational. But when the situation permits, they can kill even the toughest vessels in a few hits. Usually, one hiT does the trick, if one hit does not work, wait about 10 seconds, the enemy vessel may overturn, but be careful if your using a submarine, it could get crushed by the sinking ship. Vulcan Cannon Though lacking in range, it certainly excells in fire rate. Possessing the fastest shot to shot rate, it is useful when fighting fast boats at short range. They also are highly effective as submarine-mounted guns, for they are fairly powerful and certainly lightweight. Employ in locations similar to the Mk 45 5 inch Gun. Type 96 AT/AA 25mm Gun These are the cornerstone to any air defense system. The cheapest weapon in the game that can shoot down aircraft, they require large batteries to be effective. They deter aircraft accuracy but at 10,000 apiece, they are pricey weapons. It is wiser to employ these guns in batches of 3-5 scattered regularly across the ship than one single massive battery, for they are not particularly strong and your air defense could be wiped clean with a single shell or bomb if clustered heavily. Emplacement should be easy, due to the fact they are the most expensive 1x1x1 gun available. Their accuracy is lacking and planes require four hits to kill. Thus, large gun batteries are effective. They will fire automatically when planes are in range. These are also the only guns capable of menacing high-flying bombers reliably when at short range- the angle limitation of the Mk45 5 inch gun prevents such. Category:Weapons Category:Strategy